There are a number of trends gaining momentum today that could fundamentally change the way we think about B2B sales in the future. Here are just a few of the trends that could shake up the world of B2B sales by the year 2020:
Trend #1: Services as Products
Right now, we’re already starting to see evidence of this trend, in the form of prospects willing to “self-educate” themselves about sophisticated services offerings. Just a few years ago, prospects had to be led through the entire sales process, from beginning to end, but that’s not the case anymore. There’s simply so much material available online that the whole B2B sales process has been streamlined.
If this trend continues to accelerate, then it may be possible to pick out and buy services without the need for B2B salespeople entirely. The entire process would be handled online, and it would be as simple as buying products online today. Some have referred to these as “productized services” – you’ve literally transformed services into products.
Trend #2: Predictable Behaviors
The huge surge in Big Data is making it possible for companies to sort through mountains of data and information for clues about buyer preferences and behaviors. Companies no longer just have quantitative data, they now have unstructured qualitative data. That’s putting a real premium on “predictive analytics” and other analytical packages that are making it easier than ever before to find “the needle in the haystack.”
The next step in the evolution of this trend could involve super-smart artificial intelligence (AI) to make behaviors and preferences truly predictable. In short, you’d be putting a supercomputer like IBM Watson to work in finding relationships and insights. As a result, B2B sales teams would know exactly which messages will resonate, and which target demographics are going to see the most sales activity. Once behaviors become “predictable,” that will really tighten up the ROI on the marketing spend because companies will only be spending money on marketing that works.
Trend #3: New Online Customer Experiences
A decade ago, selling a sophisticated B2B service offering meant a face-to-face meeting with the client. There simply wasn’t any other alternative. But that seems to be changing with the advent of video as a real sales tool. This goes beyond just videoconferencing – it’s also about Skype and FaceTime on your mobile device. You can think of social media and mobile as being two catalysts for altering the customer experience beyond just the offline meeting.
The next step in the evolution of new customer experiences could involve augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). It’s the VR space that really seems to be heating up these days, with Samsung and Google now offering consumer headset devices to compete with the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. With these VR headsets, it might be possible to have entirely new types of customer experiences, where the customer and sales rep meet in a virtual world.
**
Overall, these three trends could really alter the world of B2B sales. By understanding them now, before they hit the mainstream, it might be possible to prepare yourself to greet the future, rather than being blindsided by these emerging new technologies.
Image: Designed by Freepik
Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.